Tag: Lothian Buses

Hate Crime: do you know this woman?

cctv-relating-to-xenophobic-incident

Edinburgh police have released CCTV images of a woman that officers wish to trace following a hate crime on a bus where a 36-year-old woman and her children were subjected to xenophobic comments.

The incident happened around midday on Monday 9 May onboard a number 10 Lothian Bus travelling on Great Junction Street in Leith.

Officers believe that the woman shown in the images may be able to assist them with their enquiries.

She is described as white, in her early 40’s, of skinny build and at the time of the incident, she was wearing a white top and dark trousers.

Constable Thomas Winsor from Leith Police Station said: “The woman pictured in the CCTV footage is of interest to our ongoing inquiries and I would ask anyone who recognises her to contact police immediately. In addition, anyone with any further information relevant to this investigation should also come forward.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101 or alternatively, the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where all information can be provided anonymously.

Letter: Save adult single ticket books!

 Lothian_Bus

Dear NEN

As an organisation responsive to the needs of vulnerable people I thought that you might be concerned by the decision of Lothian Buses to stop selling books of adult single tickets.

These tickets are bought by a number of services including many hostels, day centres and food banks. These tickets are used to enable individuals to get to health appointments and engage with vital services.

This decision by Lothian Buses restricts the ability for services to offer such provision. Lothian buses say that paper tickets bought in advance make up less than 1% of total sales. However, these less than 1% are made up of some of the most vulnerable people in our city.

Please sign if you agree with this petition by clicking the link below:

Please circulate around your networks. If you have any questions about this then please email me.
Also, if your service is impacted by this then please let me know how.

Many thanks,

Paul Stevenson

Email: mrpaulstevenson@gmail.com

 

Our bus is coming back!

Victory for community councils bus campaign

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Local residents will be able to get a 42 bus to Craigleith Retail Park again from October. Lothian Buses have agreed to reinstate the service and support the alteration to the 42 route following a joint appeal by local community councils.

Drylaw Telford Community Council chairman Alex Dale, who coordinated the campaign, said local residents will be delighted to hear the news. “The 42 service into the Retail Park has been missed and I’m often being asked: ‘when are we getting our bus back?’ It’s taken a while but it’s great to be able to tell people that the service is to be reinstated from the beginning of October. It’s good news and I hope local people will take the opportunity to use the service.”

Drylaw Telford CC joined forces with Stockbridge Inverleith, Blackhall Craigleith and Muirhouse Salvesen community councils to petition for the return of the service back in March, and Alex received confirmation from Lothian Buses earlier this week that the 42 will return to the local Retail Park this autumn.

The service was withdrawn because traffic problems around the shopping centre caused delays and disruption to the timetable, but it’s hoped that improvements to traffic signalling will reduce excessive delays.

A spokesperson for Lothian Buses confirmed that the 42 bus service will return to Craigleith Shopping Centre from 4 October on Monday – Fridays as a trial.

Gearing up for Moonwalk – the hottest party in town

All aboard for MoonWalk’s tenth anniversary

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The Walk the Walk Team was in St Andrew Square earlier today aboard the Lothian Pink Bus specially branded in The Mad Hatter’s Midnight Tea Party theme of this year’s event!

The MoonWalk Scotland is celebrating its tenth anniversary on 13 June at Inverleith Park and organisers breast cancer charity Walk the Walk are inviting everybody to join them by signing up for one of four different challenges all to raise money, raise awareness, get fit and have fun!

The excitement for the Hottest Party in Town is already building with The Red Hot Chilli Pipers set to perform to thousands of women and men as they enjoy the electric atmosphere before they start their Midnight Challenges.

Edinburgh Castle, Lloyds on the Mound and many other iconic buildings in Scotland’s Capital City will be lit up pink on the night in support of the wonderful walkers and volunteers.

If people feel a wee bit timid about taking their first step in a charity challenge, The MoonWalk offers The New Moon (6.55 miles) with children of 10 years and upwards allowed to take part.

Alice Ferguson , aged 12, says: “ Last year, when I was 12, I heard about the New Moon. I really wanted to take part. On the night everything made me feel so special, the atmosphere was so friendly and exciting. In Moonwalk City my mum and I got a massage, had some food, and danced until we began our journey through Edinburgh.

“I remember walking up towards the castle – it was lit up pink – and everything feeling so magical. I will treasure that memory. I am over the moon to be taking part again in this amazing event this year! The New Moon is a simple, fun thing to raise money for something that is definitely not fun and simple.”

Enjoy The MoonWalk Experience without the worry of walking a long distance but anybody looking for a larger challenge can still enter The Half Moon (13.1 miles), The Full Moon (26.2 miles) and Over The Moon (52.4 miles).

To find out more about Walk the Walk and The MoonWalk Scotland visit www.walkthewalk.org/moonwalkscotland

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Fresh Start is Lothian Buses charity of the year

Fresh Start

FRESH START, the Pilton-based charity that helps people who have been homeless get established in their new home, has been announced as Lothian Buses’ Charity of the Year for 2015. 

Throughout 2015, Lothian Buses and Fresh Start will work together on a number of projects including a special bus wrap advertising the work the charity do, visits for the charity’s families to the bus depots, fundraising through staff events and the opportunity for the company’s 2000+ staff to volunteer with the charity.

Tony Depledge, Chair of Lothian Buses said: “Supporting a local charity every year is really important to us. This year we decided to choose a charity that was significantly different to previous years and Fresh Start is exactly that.

“Homelessness can affect anyone and its great that we can highlight the important work that they do. 

“We look forward to working with the Fresh Start team over the course of 2015, helping to raise the profile of the charity in our local community whilst having fun raising funds for this fantastic cause.”

Since 2012, Lothian Buses has appointed a Charity of the Year in order to help the organisation benefit from focused fundraising and awareness activities. The Yard, another project based in North Edinburgh, was Lothian Buses’ chosen charity last year and previous recipients include It’s Good 2 Give and Lothian Austistic Society.

FreshStart logo

Keith Robertson, Fresh Start’s Managing Director said: “This is a great opportunity for us. For a local charity like ours working in the Edinburgh & Lothian area, it will raise awareness of what we do and what homelessness means.  Being homeless can have a devastating effect on families and individuals. They lose not only their belongings, but their confidence and self-esteem.  We help them to settle in their new home and back into the community.  This partnership with Lothian Buses will enable us to reach more people than ever before.”

For more information visit:

http://www.freshstartweb.org.uk

www.lothianbuses.com

lothian buses

FreshStart logo

Communities call: bring back our 42!

‘We want the 42 bus service to Craigleith Retail Park restored with immediate effect’ – DTCC’s Alex Dale

42 bus

Four local Community Councils and a residents group have joined forces to call for the immediate reinstatement of a local bus service to Craigleith Retail Park.

Drylaw/Telford, Muirhouse/Salvsen, Craigleith/Blackhall and Stockbridge/Inverleith community councils, along with Easter Drylaw Residents Association, are urging Lothian Buses to bring back the 42.

Drylaw Telford CC chairman Alex Dale explained: “I have set up a CEC petition form (see below) calling for the return of bus service 42 to the retail park with immediate effect.

“The service was withdrawn by Lothian Buses at the end of last year. They said buses entering and leaving the retail park were held up because of congestion and that these delays meant the service couldn’t keep to its timetable further along the route.

“As the bus uses the section of the park owned by Sainsbury’s, I have been badgering away over the past months to try and solve the issues. In the end Sainsbury’s agreed to pay for equipment to both the buses and the traffic lights which will allow buses priority at these lights – this is now in place and Lothian Buses are at present trialling the system with the 38 bus, which still accesses the park.

“If the trial is successful Lothian Buses will look at a possibly returning the service at their Autumn timetable, but our community councils agree that the company should return the service 42 with immediate effect as part of the trial, and not wait till Autumn.”

service 42 Signature form of those individuals supporting the petition (1)

Members of the public/local businesses can also view and sign  petition by going to   www.edinburgh.gov.uk/petitions   and selecting ‘Support a Petition’.

The Closing Date is the 13 March 2015.

Last stop – but happy memories at the end of the road

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Lothian Buses’ year working with The Yard has comes to an end – but the company has raised a record breaking amount for its Charity of the year, The Yard.

The charity’s bus has become well known and much loved throughout Edinburgh and the Lothians and the company’s employees taking the charity to their hearts by raising an fantastic amount of money for them.

The Yard provides care, support and fun for children with disabilities and their families and work closely with special need schools in Edinburgh

Over the year Lothian Buses, their employees and customers have raised over £20,000 for the charity from events such as charity football matches, raffles, the Christmas Grotto Bus and the company’s staff awards night, plus customers and employees donated their foreign coins and change to collections tins at our Travelshops. The charity also received a year’s free adverting on the outside and inside of buses with a value of over £196,000.

Jenny McDonald, Fundraising Manager, The Yard said: “It has been a great privilege to be Lothian Buses Charity of The Year and to see the commitment from all the staff and customers who have done an incredible job raising £20,000 towards our work.

“Special thanks to Keith and all the team at Marine Depot who organised the Hibs Legends Vs Lothian Buses Allstars Football Match, creating great memories for our children involved. Seeing the smiling faces of Cissie and Amy on our Yard bus still makes us all smile and it has been invaluable in raising awareness of what we do – thank you!’

Service 29 at the double!

Customer demand drives bus service upgrades

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Increased frequencies in the evening and at weekends plus extra capacity are just some of the changes being introduced by Lothian Buses at the end of March. Local service improvements include the 29 becoming a double decker and there will be increased frequencies for 23 and 27 on Saturdays – you’ll get one every twelve minutes. 

Services have been reviewed in response to customer feedback and passenger demand, resulting in a range of improvements that aim to maintain high satisfaction rates.

Sarah Boyd, Head of Operations, said: “Our changes reflect our continued commitment to our customers at a time when more and more people are relying on public transport to travel around our city. Our research has shown that the vast majority of our passengers will benefit from these changes and will see an improved service as a result. We will continue to monitor all our services to ensure we are providing the best possible transport network for the people of Edinburgh.”

  • Service 5 will see its frequency increased with buses now running every 10 minutes Monday to Friday during the daytime.
  • Service 7 will run 24/7, with increased frequency during the day Monday to Friday and in the evening Monday to Saturday. New service N7 will be introduced running hourly each night.
  • Sunday services doubled in frequency with services 8 and 21 to run every 15 minutes daytime and service 47 to run every 30 minutes daytime.
  • Services 11 and 16 will have Sunday frequencies increased to every 12 minutes daytime and every 15 minutes in the evening. Additionally service N11 is extended to Ocean Terminal, meaning both services now run 24/7 on their full routes.
  • Service 15 will have a revised route and timetable to create a quicker and more direct service from Penicuik.
  • Services 23 & 27 will have Saturday daytime frequencies increased to every 12 minutes.
  • Service 29 is converted to double-deck to provide more capacity. All Monday to Friday peak journeys will operate to Gorebridge with Mayfield no longer being served.
  • Service 37 will see alterations in Midlothian. On Monday to Friday alternate daytime journeys will terminate at Easter Bush and will not serve Penicuik. Journeys which continue to Penicuik Deanburn will additionally serve Roslin. Roslin will now have a significantly enhanced bus service with service 37 and N37 providing a full 24/7 service. On Saturdays and Sunday service 37 will continue to run every 20 minutes during the day, with all buses running to Penicuik Deanburn via Roslin.
  • Service 40 has been altered to serve Auchendinny ensuring local links to Penicuik and Loanhead are retained following the withdrawal of service 15 from the village.
  • Service 41 will be increased at busy times to provide an alternative to service 43, which is withdrawn due to insufficient passenger numbers. Service 43 operated between Barnton and Waterloo Place, which is also covered by the service 41.
  • Following customer feedback service 63 will be re-routed to serve Hermiston Gait Retail Park instead of South Gyle Crescent. The Monday to Friday frequency is increased to every 40 minutes with later journeys introduced. On Saturday and Sunday earlier and later journeys will be introduced.
  • Following requests from passengers service 104 will now serve The Jewel instead of Brunstane.
  • Service 113 is increased in frequency Monday to Saturday with buses now running every 30 minutes during the day. This will provide more capacity along the route and provide more direct journeys for Tranent following the withdrawal of service 44 from the town.

Nightbus services are also improving, notably:

  • Service N3 – better links to Eskbank through the night on all days of the week.
  • Service N7 – new route introduced from the Royal Infirmary to Ocean Terminal via Newhaven. This will run hourly each night, following the daytime route of Service 7.
  • Service N11 – route extended from Leith Street to Ocean Terminal serving Pilrig, Bonnington Toll and Newhaven.
  • Service N37 – serving Roslin on all days of the week, providing the village with a full 24/7 service.

Lothian Buses will have street teams promoting the service improvements starting on Saturday 14 March at Penicuik Centre between 9am and 2pm. Following this event staff will be travelling on buses in the Midlothian and Tranent areas in the two weeks leading up to the change to assist passengers with any questions.

The company reported last May that it had its best year ever in 2013 with a net profit of £8.5m, an increase of 7.8% on the previous year. It also announced it would pay a dividend of nearly £3.3m to local authority shareholders.

In December Lothian Buses announced bus passengers were up from 115.4 million to 118.4 million in 2014.

Last year the company also invested £15m in 65 new low emission and ultra-low emission buses that will significantly impact on improving the city’s air quality and lower carbon emissions.

Full details of the schedule changes are available at www.lothianbuses.com.

 

All aboard Lothian Buses to the Mad Hatter’s Midnight Tea Party!

Pink1The MoonWalk Scotland’s amazing Pink Bus is back – and thanks to Lothian Buses, it’s en route to the Mad Hatter’s Midnight Tea Party! For the third year, Lothian Buses are uniting with MoonWalk organisers breast cancer charity Walk the Walk, as Official Transport Partner for the iconic night-time walking challenge.

The MoonWalk celebrates its 10th anniversary on 13 June this year, when thousands of women, men and young Walkers will join together at Edinburgh’s Inverleith Park to celebrate a decade of incredible Scottish fundraising and decorated bras, before setting off on their Walking challenges. With this year’s Alice in Wonderland inspired theme, organisers are expecting a night full of fun, wonder and madness!

Between now and The MoonWalk Scotland in June, Lothian Buses’ specially branded bright Pink Bus will once again become a familiar sight on bus routes all over Edinburgh and the Lothians, and will be the centre piece of several special roadshows in the build up to the event.

On the night itself, Lothian Buses will provide a special service from Edinburgh City Centre to Inverleith Park and will also transport hundreds of the charity’s fantastic Volunteers to and from their positions on The MoonWalk route. Participants in the New Moon challenge (6.55 miles) will also be chauffeured by Lothian Buses back from their finish line to MoonWalk City, where they will watch films in Walk the Walk’s huge Pink Tent.

Pink3Lothian Buses are not only providing the wheels to and from The MoonWalk Wonderland, but some of the company’s staff are also ditching their regular uniforms for Alice in Wonderland inspired costumes, as they take part in The MoonWalk themselves.

The MoonWalk Scotland  has raised almost £18 million over the last ten years, with most of the money staying in Scotland, to help improve the lives of people with cancer. Walk the Walk makes a huge difference across the country, granting large amounts to projects and charities who would otherwise take many years to raise the money on their own.

There is a walking distance for every age and ability, from the 6.55 miles New Moon challenge, now in its third year, to the Half Moon (13.1 miles), Full Moon (26.2 miles) and for those wanting a thrilling new goal, the double marathon Over The Moon (52.4 miles).

Nina Barough CBE, Founder and Chief Executive of Walk the Walk said:  “I am absolutely delighted that Lothian Buses are once again uniting with Walk the Walk as our Official Transport Partner for 2015, and especially as this year will be a big year, as we celebrate our ten years of MoonWalking in Scotland.

“Lothian Buses will have a busy night ahead of them, transporting our Walkers from the centre of Edinburgh to the best party in town at Inverleith, helping to deploy our Volunteers and Marshalls around the course, and collecting all our New Mooners from their Finish Line and delivering them back to MoonWalk City.

“And as for the incredible pink MoonWalk Scotland bus, it will be out on the streets  of Edinburgh and the Lothians,  always spreading the word –  it’s a daily reminder to encourage people to sign up for The MoonWalk and help to really make a huge difference to people with breast cancer across Scotland.”

Pink4Tina McMurray, a Lothian Buses driver who is leading the company’s MoonWalkers on 13 June  said:  “We are delighted that once again thanks to the support of our employers, Lothian Buses, staff can get involved with The MoonWalk for the third year running. We are all really excited for the night itself and helping this great cause.”

Entries are now open for The MooonWalk Scotland 2015. To sign up as a walker or volunteer, go to www.walkthewalk.org/moonwalkscotland